John McAfee is set to do battle with the IRS over taxes

John McAfee declares he’s not filed a tax return in nearly a decade – and throws down the gauntlet to the IRS…

Controversial cryptocurrency advocate – and 2020 US President candidate – John McAfee has kicked off 2019 by setting up a battle with the American Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

It follows a Tweet he sent early in the new year, where he declared that he hadn’t filed a tax return for eight years, arguing that taxes are “illegal”. Furthermore, that he’d paid tens of millions in taxes already, but doesn’t make money now, instead living his life off the cash he’s made from McAfee Inc. “My net income is negative”, he wrote, “but I am a prime target for the IRS. Here I am”.

The IRS is very much likely to take the bait, too, but McAfee argues that he’s more than ready for any upcoming fight. He took to Twitter again over the weekend to explain his position…

In preparation for my battle with the IRS: I purposely never transacted using privacy coins. Nor anyone in Team McAfee. We exclusively used Ethereum, Bitcoin and other trackable coins. It is impossible to hide transactions using these coins. Wallets are open to anyone’s view.

IRS part 2: At no point did I use exchanges. I transacted with other Team Mcafee folks, using trackable coins, who in turn handled any exchanges. I did not want the IRS to loose track of my funds by moving coins to an untrackable Exchange wallet. My finances are open and visible.

IRS part 3: The IRS never bothered to audit me, in spite of years of not filing. Why? Because an audit would have uncovered nothing irregular and charges would be impossible. Instead they can now assume and concoct whatever story suits them. This is the hallmark of corruption.

Nothing that he’s written in those Tweets is unlikely to stop the IRS taking a look at McAfee’s financial position, not least because he’s been so public in his defiance of the existing taxation system. If anything, it sets the scene for what looks to be a fascinating showdown between existing legislative bodies and crypto.

There’s been no comment yet from the IRS on McAfee’s remarks. We’ll keep you posted as the story develops, though…